Greetings,
I am ‘exploring’ buying a used Mini (non-S).
I’m looking at cars 2013 and later. And I’m particularly curious and wondering about high-milage examples (100,000+) at around the $8000-8500 price point.
Most of these cars I’m seeing on-line are offered by car dealers, so of course they look immaculate, but… you know.
I’ve heard to stay away from these cars with high milage (Heck, I’ve heard ‘stay away’ from these cars; period), But I would love to hear some opinions and advise from the Mini lover community, and what kind of additional $ I may have to put into one of these particular vintage of Mini if I bought one. (I’ve heard timing issues and transmission issues?)
I may consider getting a PPI (that would obviously be best), but that will depend on a variety of factors. We’ll see.
Thanks in advance for any insight offered.

 

Wow...
Is it something I said?

 

The 2013 is the last year of the second generation. Each of the three generations have different personalities. My preference would be for a 13 or 06 S. Each generation got softer and larger. The first generation is the most go-cart like which I prefer but too raw to be a daily driver for me.

The statement that car manufacturers continue to improve a car until they get the bugs worked out and start over with the next generation is as relevant for MINI as any brand.

The best advice is to buy the newest, lowest mileage, and best maintained you can afford of the generation you want. A prepurchase inspection is worth the money.

Drive each generation before you decide.

 

What miniCPA said. Many use the Gen1 for a DD, but they definitely need to be monitored and maintained particularly with gaskets, seals etc. Anything made of rubber that is about 15 years old is not gonna be happy. Well maintained, they gladly go over 200k miles. Gen1 would be categorized as more fun, more upkeep.

Gen2 things get a little bigger, comfortable, and probably to most, a little less personality (turbo is easier to mod for hp gains) but to some, the Gen1 supercharger is too hypnotic to resist. So gen2 a little more similar to it’s competition but with its mini personality. Gen 3 seems to be where they picked up the pace with performance and reliability, more style, but again, maybe a little bigger.

I can’t speak to the long term reliability for gen2 or 3, but more computer, probably less maintenance. Overall I’d say Gen1 can DD, but if you don’t mind the fact you’re driving a slightly outdated vehicle that may throw a few curve ***** at you while along the way, the later generations not so much.

Definitely jump on YouTube with accurate search words. There’s some good overviews of what to look for, particularly with Gen1.

 

Hiya,
I would suggest watching a bunch of videos on the you tube channel Mod Mini https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCid...CrugARNdm4PFzA
His videos are really informative and will give you an idea of what goes wrong and how hard/easy they are to fix on different generation minis.

 

Thanks for replies (and sorry for the lag)
I'm off the hunt for the time being, but will be looking again to buy in Oct.
My budget will be limited but will be looking at 2013 models or later. I do see a few for around the $9-10,000 mark, but they are often over 100,000 miles. That doesn't seem like a great deal, since with that kind of milage I imagine it would need some serious work. But I don't know, as I have no previous experience with these cars.
(I know this is kind of a x-post to a different OP of mine. I apologize)

Thanks for Mod Mini Youtube. That looks great!